
IPS board member resigns to lead Mind Trust venture
Caitlin Hannon, a former Indianapolis Public Schools teacher who joined the school board in an effort to push for change in the district, has stepped down.
Caitlin Hannon, a former Indianapolis Public Schools teacher who joined the school board in an effort to push for change in the district, has stepped down.
Indianapolis Public Schools has put the 11-acre site on the market. It was built in 1931 as a Coca-Cola bottling plant but the school system has used it since 1975 as a bus maintenance facility.
The school system is expecting a flurry of interest in the 11-acre site—dominated by a former Coca-Cola bottling plant—as development opportunities in the popular cultural district dwindle.
Five of the six buildings that Indianapolis Public Schools put on the block last month have attracted offers, with bidders appearing to lean toward renovating several as apartments.
The school district is using a bidding process to attempt to unload the vacant buildings, including the downtown Phillips Temple.
Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Lewis Ferebee said he’s had “very preliminary” conversations with city officials about creating a common enrollment process to be shared by IPS and Mayor Greg Ballard’s portfolio of charter schools.
All 11 school districts in Marion County will receive an increase in per-student funding under the state’s new budget.
A combination of setbacks has caused College Summit, which helped high school students make it to college who otherwise might not have gone, to suspend operations in Indiana.
The crowdfunding donation, which took place Thursday morning, completed funding for 152 open projects, helping more than 11,000 students in 150 classrooms at 30 schools.
An Indianapolis not-for-profit is betting that a school reform plan with roots in Africa can help turn around a troubled Indianapolis public school.
The Legislature has slashed extra aid to support English language learning programs at the very moment when schools are struggling with explosive growth of children who need them.
After seeing a 2014 law fuel unprecedented collaborations between Indianapolis Public Schools and such charter schools as Phalen Leadership Academies, the Legislature decided to extend the same opportunity to school districts statewide.
IPS would see a 6-percent reduction in state tuition aid by 2017 despite being one of the state’s poorest districts, with more than 75 percent of children coming from families that are poor enough to qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
A bill introduced in the Indiana General Assembly would divert $10 million or more in state education money into a new fund that would make grants to schools that focus on teaching expelled students.
Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Lewis Ferebee said he is concerned that IPS could see even deeper cuts in state aid going forward.
Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Lewis Ferebee said the most persistent challenge he has faced since taking the helm of central Indiana’s largest public school district has been low expectations among employees, students and community stakeholders.
Some parents complained the move, which will bring more International Baccalaureate students to Shortridge, puts the interests of affluent north-side families ahead of those of other families.
The percentage of Marion County charter schools receiving a D or an F from state regulators has spiked from 30 percent two years ago to 54 percent this year.
Voters elect Mary Ann Sullivan, Kelly Bentley and LaNier Echols by wide margins after expensive race.
On the line is whether the district will continue to move toward cooperation with charter schools and the business community, or instead slow the move toward aggressive reforms.